Paula Radcliffe: According to the IAAF, Paula Radcliffe's world record will now stand. "Some good news for British runner Paula Radcliffe on Wednesday: The IAAF reversed its stance on how it was to award world records. It previously ruled that since Radcliffe set her world record alongside men (in London eight years ago), it was not a valid mark."“The record will stay. Nobody will cancel the record of Paula. That is sure,” said IAAF council member Helmut Digel via telephone after an IAAF meeting in Monaco. “Her record will never be diminished.”"After the IAAF changed how women’s world records were to be awarded, it received an enormous volume of protests. Digel noted this surprised the governing body. He said the rule wasn’t to diminish the old records."“It was not against old records at all,” he said. “We realize that these performances were excellent performances.”"Radcliffe’s time that was set in London is a blazing 2:15:25. It is a mark that is still over a minute faster than the second-best clocking."

Fancy attempting to disallow women's records because of men in the race!

Vanitys Crossing to be closed to vehicle traffic.“TAMS’ decision to permanently close Vanity’s Crossing follows advice from ActewAGL and is a precautionary measure to reduce the risk of contamination or an event which would make the Cotter Reservoir unusable as a source of drinking water.“Gates will be installed on either side of the crossing on Tuesday 15 November 2011. These will remain open until 6 February 2012, when they will be permanently locked to prevent vehicle access. People will still be able to access the area on foot or bicycle however we ask that people be mindful of how their behaviour may impact on the water and surrounding environment. Signage will be in place to inform people of the closure and of the water quality issues at the site."

This may affect some of our mountain runs if cars will need to detour to get to the far side of the crossing.

It's great that the 'powers that be' are allowing her record to stand, but they're still going with the new rule (that women's marathon records can only be run in all-women races), which seriously limits the opportunity for women to run world and national records.